The Speaker of the House of Commons, Michael Martin, is going to resign this afternoon.

It is a step which had to be taken if the Commons is to begin the process of repairing the terrible damage that has been caused by the MPs' expenses scandal.

As I said in The Northern Echo's editorial comment this morning, there is a danger that Mr Martin is being seen by some MPs as a scapegoat to shift some of the blame from their own shoulders.

But the Speaker is the figurehead of the Commons - a symbol of the standards parliament is supposed to set - and he, therefore, has to go.

Our reporter Neil Macfarlane is in London today to begin going through the details of North-East MPs who have agreed to open their claims to public scrutiny early.

Robert Blackman-Woods (Durham City), and Phil Wilson (Sedgefield) have followed the example of Kevan Jones (Durham North) in making their expenses public.

We are still waiting for others to decide what they should do, although Stockton North MP Frank Cook has made his position abundantly clear. He says he's too busy.